A Brotherly Bond
by Asaf
Summary: Mheetu is having a hard time getting used to the lion who just randomly appeared in his life one day and married his older sister. So Nala decides to send Simba and his little brother in law to spend some time together. Well, that's just a wonderful idea. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
1. Good Timing, Sarafina

**A/N: I do not own the cover photo – it belongs to kati-kopa from deviant art.**

**1 – Good Timing, Sarafina**

The Pride Lands - a fertile place of enormous measurements. Diverse in its fauna, the lands were the home of a wide variety of animal species ranging from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope and from the tiny field mouse to the massive elephant (which, ironically enough, feared the small rodent). It was well watered and rich in greenery, making it a natural habitat for all of its vegetarian inhabitants. This, in turn, was what defined it as a suitable place for lions and other predators. The tall grass, which provided all the herds with nourishment and was found throughout the entire kingdom, was also the downfall of said prey animals. While allowing them to feed, it also enabled their hunters to hide and sneak up on them undetected, making it harder to survive. One would find the statement claiming that food could be treacherous weird but, alas, the Circle of Life has always been distinguishable for its unique, strange and often cruel ways.

One thing that was regarded as cruel about it was that, while filled with many beginnings, every start would eventually turn into an ending. Each sunrise had its sunset. Many referred to a monarch's time as ruler as something that rises and falls like the sun, eventually settling down on one's time as holder of the throne and rising with the heir as the new king or queen. Some saw change as the dawning of a new era. Many regarded the rise of the sun as a sign of beginnings while some simply looked at it as what it was: the signal of the start of what was most likely going to be a simple, regular day.

That particular morning was no different. As the sun appeared at the eastern side of the horizon, it was greeted by a young lion who eagerly made his way out of the den that was part of the rather unnatural stone formation known as Pride Rock. The chilly air of the fading night made his cream colored fur bristle ever so slightly, but it didn't bother him too much. In a matter of about an hour it would start to get as hot as an African day could be, anyway. As Mheetu came to a halt at the edge of Pride Rock, he once again felt completely speechless at the marvelous sight that awaited him. The Pride Lands were quite majestic in appearance. There was no denying that.

Nala's younger brother was still a cub, but he was already in the process growing out of cubhood and nearing his adolescence. He was somewhat larger than how big his sister and Simba had been at the time of the stampede. His mother, Sarafina, had told him that his mane would most likely start to grow any day now; a statement which provided Mheetu with a great source of anticipation. The young male was obviously thrilled with that knowledge as well as definitely eager to finally start growing his own source of pride (his mane – of course). He obviously considered this sign of growing up as an occasion of great significance.

Even though he wasn't exactly a cub, the young lion was still just as energetic and enthusiastic as one, which was pretty much why he was awake at such an early hour. It was something he and his brother in law had had in common, seeing how Mufasa's son had grown out of his habit of being an early riser a long time ago. There was such a huge difference between the Pride Lands Mheetu was now looking at to the barren wasteland he'd been born into during Scar's reign… The early months of his life hadn't been easy to say the least. One positive thing he did get out of it all was the close relationship he had with Nala, his older sister.

She'd helped their mother raise him, watched over him and protected him in case the hyenas were bored, eaten less than the small amount of food she'd managed to get for herself whenever he was still hungry and, also, she was his best friend. As gloomy and hopeless as life under Scar had sometime seemed, Nala's presence has always been a great source of encouragement and comfort for Mheetu. He looked up to her and admired her not only for all that she's done for him ever since the day he was born, but also for being the kind and loyal lioness that she was.

The young lion still remembered how upset he'd been when Nala left the Pride Lands to find help towards the end of Scar's reign. But, as distressed as not having her around all of a sudden had been, he'd always known in his heart that she would keep up her promise - and she had. Her brother couldn't remember ever feeling as helpless as he'd felt without her (even if Sarafina had remained with him) but it was definitely worth the wait. His sister had returned with Simba after being absent for a few days. On that day, Mheetu's life had taken a huge turn for the better.

Everything had changed before he could even start to realize what was happening. The most noticeable difference was the fact that the hyenas were gone. It was a new sensation for Nala's younger brother; to be able to go on his own without having any of the adults watch over him, to have that privilege of living his life without constant fear of death. It had taken him some time to get himself to go anywhere on his own but he eventually overcame his worries. Now he was just as carefree and happy as a cub deserved to be!

Another change, one the young male was still getting used to, was, well… his brother in law. Nala had told him about Simba a countless amount of times before finding out that he was still alive in the jungle but, obviously, her brother had never expected to meet him because he'd believed him to be dead. Against all odds, though, the banished prince eventually returned to claim his rightful place as the true heir of Mufasa. Mheetu didn't see it as a bad thing – on the contrary! He was more than glad that Scar and the hyenas were gone, but something that accompanied the coronation of Simba was him marrying Nala and taking her as his mate and queen.

Before Mheetu's young mind could comprehend what was happening, his sister suddenly had so many responsibilities to deal with as the king's second-in-command and so little time to spend with her brother. He had nothing personal against his brother in law. So far he was a much better king than Scar could have ever hoped to be, but to Mheetu it felt like this complete stranger (Simba) had taken his place in Nala's life. A lot of the spare time she did have was spent with her mate, meaning that her younger brother saw very little of her. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't a little jealous of Simba. It was so weird to see his sister show such devotion, trust and affection towards a lion he didn't know at all. Plus he still thought that being in love was gross (being as old as he was).

Even though the Pride Lands already recovered, meaning that a few months have already gone by since the one true king had returned, Mheetu was still very uncomfortable by his brother in law's presence. It's not that younger lion was afraid of him, but he couldn't help but feel a little awkward whenever he was around. Simba was really nice and all of that, but Nala's brother found himself having a hard time even trying to get used to the fact that the king was such a major part of his sister's life and, therefore, his life as well.

The childish grin on the soon to be adolescent's face widened as an idea hit him. It was still a very early hour of the morning, he thought, which meant that there was still some time before Nala would have to wake up and attend to, um… whatever it was she usually had to attend to. He's never really bothered with learning more about what a king and a queen actually had to do because it was irrelevant to him. It's not that he wasn't curious (being a cub, even if he was close to growing out of cubhood, his attention was easily caught by pretty much everything), but he felt like asking Nala would simply ram home how little time she had to spend with him. As for asking Simba, well, that was sort of completely out of the question. If getting these answers from his sister was most likely going to upset him then getting them from Simba would be an even bigger mistake.

Deciding not to waste any precious time, the queen's brother immediately turned on his heels and ran inside. His target was located in the back of the den, but it looked like he had many obstacles ahead of him. All of the pride members were sleeping pretty much all over the place, meaning that he was going to have to be very cautious in making his way towards Nala. He couldn't risk waking anybody up, especially not Simba. After some very careful calculations (or, at least, careful in Mheetu's perspective, seeing how he contemplated his situation for only two seconds or so), the determined young lion began to stalk his way through the slumbering crowd, paying extra close attention to where he was going.

A few stressful moments passed and eventually Mheetu found himself standing next to his sister's sleeping form. He couldn't help but make a slight gagging sound at how one of Simba's foreleg was placed over Nala's side as the two of them rested closely together. Honestly, could anything be more disgusting than _this_? The young lion frowned slightly as he realized that this was going to make his task even more difficult. He just hoped Simba wasn't a light sleeper. "Psst! Nala!" he whispered quietly, coming over to one of his sister's ears. "Wake up!"

The cream lioness' ears twitched slightly at the sound of his voice, but it seemed like her brother was going to have to go to bolder measures in order to wake her up. He raised an eyebrow as she giggled. "Not now, Simba…" she muttered sleepily. His mouth dropped wide open when she slightly moved her head so that it rested in her mate's mane as she giggled once more. "You silly lion, you…" Why, of all the nerves! Was she dreaming about him all the time now, too?!

Frowning, Mheetu decided to take things to the next level. He once again closed the distance between him and Nala's head, gently biting onto one of her ears and tugging on it. This situation continued for a few moments before his sister finally opened her eyes. Smiling excitedly, the young male let go of her ear. "Hey Nala!" he said, making sure to keep his voice down as she slowly moved from lying on her side to lying on her stomach. During those few seconds Mheetu prayed with all his hearts that Simba wouldn't wake up as a result of her moving about so closely to him and, to his relief, he didn't.

The queen blinked in confusion a few times as her mind slowly drifted from sleep to awareness. When her vision became fully clear she saw her younger brother looking at her with a broad smile. "Mheetu?" she asked, rubbing her eyes with her paws for a brief moment before looking at the entrance of the den. It was still very early and she was obviously 'intrigued' as to why the soon-to-be adolescent had decided to wake her up at such an hour. "What's wrong?" Back during Scar's reign he'd had a habit of waking her up because of a nightmare or because he was afraid of the hyenas nearby, but that was most likely not the case this time around.

"Let's go watch the sunrise together!" said Mheetu excitedly, looking like he was in quite a hurry. The sooner they went, the more time they'd have to be together before everybody else woke up.

At first Nala was about to just groan in annoyance and go back to sleep. After all, there was still plenty of time before she would actually have to wake up. However, seeing the excited, pleading expression on her little brother's face, she just couldn't say no to him. Also, she was quite aware of the fact that he wanted to spend more time with her, and this would be a nice opportunity to do so. "Alright, I'm coming." True, she was still tired and wouldn't mind getting some more sleep, but some things were far more important.

It took all of Mheetu's self restraint to not squeal out in excitement when Nala gave her consent and slowly rose to her paws. After all, doing so might have resulted in accidentally interrupting somebody else's sleep, and he wanted the chances of them being interrupted any time soon to be reduced to a minimum. Just as carefully as he had made his way over to the back of the den in order to wake his big sister up, the soon-to-be adolescent slowly walked back outside. Nala followed but, unlike her sibling, she decided to just go around all of the sleeping lionesses. Silly young ones – always looking directly at what's in front of them and not at the entirety of their surroundings.

The queen briefly halted as she stepped into the open air in order to stretch her somewhat numb limbs. As she did this, Mheetu happily ran back over to her and affectionately nuzzled against one of her forelegs, laughing for a brief moment as she gently urged him along by nudging him forward with her muzzle. He showed no signs of resistance and quickly pranced over to the tip of Pride Rock. This particular spot didn't provide as good a view of the Pride Lands as the very top of the rock formation did, but Mheetu preferred it because, while he would never admit it in front of anyone, he was kind of scared of heights.

To the young lion's delight, it looked as if he and his sister had arrived just in time. While not having gotten there before the sun had initially emerged from the east, the whole period of the early morning hours that was considered as 'sunrise' was still far from over. Since Nala knew her little brother well enough, she went ahead and lay down once she got to his chosen spot. Just like she'd expected him to, the small male immediately took the liberty of lying down on her forelegs while leaning against her chest. This position has always provided Mheetu with plenty of physical contact with the lioness's warm fur and it definitely didn't look like it was about to disappoint him this time around.

Nala couldn't stop herself from giggling a short giggle when she felt a purr of content rumble from Mheetu's throat. He was just too cute for her to handle. Normally, whenever they spent time together, her younger brother would always strike up a conversation about something random. But what he liked the most about spending time with his sister was the fact that they didn't necessarily have to talk to one another in order for him to enjoy her company. Because he's seen less and less of her recently, he was more than content with just lying there with her and enjoying the view.

The two siblings remained there for quite some time. It was after the sun had fully emerged that their attention was caught by a familiar voice from behind them. "Good morning, Nala." Mheetu didn't even need to look around in order to know who it was but he did it anyway. All good things had to come to an end at one point or another…

"Morning, Simba." It was very difficult for Nala's brother not to groan / frown / roll his eyes / make gagging sounds when his brother in law arrived at their side, giving her a short nuzzle which she happily returned while purring softly.

Then, much to Mheetu's already growing discomfort, the king looked down at him with a smile. "How are you, Mheetu?"

The younger male tensed up a little as the paw of his brother in law gently ruffled up his mane. Well, he didn't have a mane just yet but, much like Simba when he was his age, he considered the hair on his head as a mane. "I-I'm fine." he managed to stutter, smiling a small and rather forced smile as he looked up at the older lion. Then, much to his relief, before anybody could say anything else, he heard Sarafina's voice as his mother called to him from inside the den. She must have woken up and, seeing how he wasn't by her side, was wondering where he'd run off to. Without a second thought, Mheetu stood up and quickly made his way inside, feeling rather glad that he'd been given an opportunity to escape the awkward presence of his sister's mate.

Nala sighed and sat up as she watched the way in which her little brother hurried to leave. "Oh, Simba…" she said with a slight hint of concern in her voice. "I don't think he's starting to come around…" It's not that her brother's uneasiness around his brother in law was a bad thing that had to be dealt with as soon as possible, but she hated to see him so nervous around a lion who, at the end of the day, was a part of their family.

Noticing the worried expression on his queen's face, Simba once again nuzzled Nala for a brief moment before staring at the entrance of the den. "Yeah, it looks like it." He wasn't oblivious to how uncomfortable his brother in law felt around him. In a way, he could understand why, but he still wished that things didn't have to be that way. After all, as the king, he had a commitment to the wellbeing of all of his subjects, especially when the subject in question was his mate's brother. "You know I wish it weren't this way."

"Of course I do." said she. It was obvious. Simba would never intentionally make somebody else uncomfortable. It wasn't in his nature. "You know, I did have an idea that might make him feel more at ease around you."

The king's expression lit up as Nala said that. "Really?" If she had thought of something then, by all means, he wanted to hear it. Anything was worth a try. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well…" Nala didn't know what her mate would think of her suggestion, but he seemed like he was willing to give anything a try. It was one of the things she loved about him; he always seemed to have the wellbeing of others on his priority list. "I was thinking… How about the two of you spend some time together, on your own?" she asked. "I believe that Mheetu should get to know the real you; not the lion who's almost constantly busy fulfilling his duties but the playful and, well… somewhat annoyingly immature lion underneath." Mheetu was a very playful individual himself, which was another reason why the queen was so upset that he saw her mate as a stranger.

Simba was silent for a short moment. "Are you sure?" It's not that he had anything against the idea of spending some time with Mheetu, but would simply forcing the younger lion into doing something he was so reserved about doing – to be in his company – be a good idea? "Wouldn't that make him even more uncomfortable?"

"I hope that, after some time, he'll simply realize that he has nothing to worry about." said Nala. After all, it's not like Simba would bite her brother's head off. "Besides, if he just keeps avoiding you, he'll never realize that he shouldn't be so distant towards you."

As much as Simba still believed that just forcing interaction between the two of them might not have a very positive effect, he couldn't help but agree that the current situation could not continue. Mheetu would never learn to be comfortable around him if he kept trying to never cross paths with him. "Wait." he said all of a sudden as a thought occurred to him. "I don't think this can work out…" He was the king – after all. Simply taking an entire day off wasn't something he could do (even if there were days where he dearly wished he could). "I've got a few patrols to go on today, and then I promised the leader of one of the rhino herds that I-"

"I know, Simba." said his mate, cutting him short. She knew more than well that he always had something to do. He never had a free day, but she'd thought about that ahead of time. "How about I'll take care of your chores for today?"

"Are you sure?" asked Simba, not sounding very satisfied with her suggestion. "You also have to lead the hunting party later and I don't want you to do everything on your own…"

"I think I can manage through one day." replied Nala with a chuckle as she licked her king across his cheek, causing him to smile sheepishly. "So, what do you say?" Simba thought about it once again for a few moments before nodding his head in agreement, a determined look on his face. Giggling excitedly, the queen gave him another loving lick before standing up and heading towards the den. Her mate followed closely behind and the two of them stopped after taking a few steps inside.

It wasn't hard to spot the only member of their pride that wasn't an adult. Mheetu was sitting in front of Sarafina, who appeared to be talking to him about something, but what prevented Nala and Simba from approaching was the absolutely horrified and maybe even disgusted look on the young lion's face. It was almost like he was staring at somebody being brutally murdered, except that he was actually facing his own mother. "And that's where cubs come from." she said.

**A/N: Good timing, Sarafina, good timing…**

**This story was basically going to be a very short oneshot which I was going to dedicate to the birthday of a friend of one of my readers. While it is still dedicated to her, it won't be a oneshot. I think there will be 2 more chapters – but I don't know for sure yet. You could say that this is my first attempt at a humor-themed fanfic, so let me know what you think! There wasn't too much comedy in this chapter, I know, but I can assure you that the real fun is about to begin!**

**This is actually a side project. My main focus is on another TLK story called "Somewhere Out There". Make sure to give it a look if you're a Kopa fan, please!**

**This short story will be completed eventually; you don't have to worry about me possibly abandoning it, but I don't know when my next update will be. Like I said, my focus is on my other story and I'll be putting the next chapter together whenever I have the time.**

**See you guys later! Be sure to review and to check out my other story! Also, if you have any friends who might be interested in reading either one of these, make sure to lead them here! Thanks in advance!**


	2. No Worries!

**A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers! Make sure to read my replies to your reviews at the end of this chapter! To all of those who are either following / have added the story to their favorites but haven't left a review, thank you also for reading! Of course, if you do feel like leaving reviews, I won't mind at all. :) As a matter of fact, please do!**

2 – No Worries!

Both Simba and Nala just stood there in shock, completely rooted to the spot. Mheetu was in a rather similar condition as he continued to sit there, between Sarafina's paws, and stare at his mother with the exact same expression he's been looking at her with for almost the entirety of their 'talk'. His young, immature mind was still trying to process what the lioness had just told him. _That_ was where little lion cubs came from? It had to be the most disgusting thing he has ever learned of in the entirety of his so-far short life! Not only did it sound completely obnoxious, but wasn't something like that painful, too?

When he'd managed to stutter and ask his mother the exact same question, all she did was simply smile, as if there was nothing to be ashamed or grossed out by, before giving him a negative response. Then she even went ahead and told him that it was actually the exact opposite, causing him to become even more petrified. Why, in the name of all the Great Kings and Queens of the past, had she then also gone ahead and decided to physically describe the entire process to him?! Hasn't she caused him to go through enough of a trauma as it was?!

Simba, in the meantime, noticing that neither his mother in law nor his brother in law were aware of the fact that he and Nala were standing there, immediately retreated and pulled his mate after him with one simple thought in his mind. Abort. Mission. Abort! Retreat, run away and start a new life under fake identities! Well, no, maybe not, but what in the world had just happened? Of all the situations that involved horrible timing, and trust me, had you grown up with Timon and Pumbaa, you'd have experienced many of those as well; this had to be the, worst, possible thing that could have ever happened!

Really, in all honesty, that _did not_ just happen. It couldn't have happened! "Right… I think I'm going to withdraw my consent for this one…" he said quietly and nervously, not wanting to raise his voice too loudly in fear that either Sarafina or Mheetu would hear him and jump to the conclusion that he and Nala were aware of the content of their… conversation…

The queen, naturally, was just as dumbstruck by Sarafina's actions. She still remembered back when she had given _her_ the talk and, because of that, had a pretty good idea as to just how embarrassing and disturbing their mother must have made it for her brother… Regardless of that, she looked at Simba with a slightly confused expression. "Why?" Well, of course it was obvious why. Mheetu was uncomfortable enough around Simba as it was. Now that Sarafina had so kindly decided to explain the prospect of mating to him… The young lion knew that his sister and Simba were married – keyword being _mates_. Oh, good grief…

"_Why?_" repeated Simba with a look of sheer disbelief on his face. "Are you serious?" In hindsight, his mate realized that her question had been rather silly. "I can't just take Mheetu with me on a forced hangout _now!_" Not only would his brother in law feel a million times more awkward around him, but Simba himself doubted he'd be able to look the younger lion in the eye for at least, well… He didn't know, but definitely not for a while! Nala's brother was probably going to have nightmares where his no longer innocent mind would force him to look upon the two of them having se- oh god!

"Okay, Simba, let's be rational here." said Nala with a somewhat forced smile. Panicking wouldn't do either one of them any good at the moment, even if, truth be told, she was very tempted to join the king's side and let the idea drop for the time being. "What's been done is done. You can't change the past, right?" Mheetu wasn't going to forget their mother's words. Who knew if waiting any further before carrying out her little plan would only result in her brother becoming even more nervous than he already was?

Simba, by that point, was constantly fidgeting about in a rather irritating manner. "No, but you can learn from it!" he protested. "And right now it's yelling at me to leave before things get worse!" Heck, even going to listen to what the leader of that rhino herd had to complain about sounded more appealing!

"Simba, I'm tired of my little brother being uneasy around his _brother in law._"

Simba inwardly cringed. She wasn't going to let him off the hook, was she? "Come on, Nala! Who tells his son about the birds and the bees when he's this young?" His tone was literally pleading - begging for her to let him go before either Mheetu or Sarafina would come walking out of the den. Honestly, he didn't know which one of them he wanted to see less at the moment.

Raising an eyebrow rather apathetically, Nala sneered. "Better now than never." The king's face then immediately gained a hue of scarlet. She was going to go there again, was she? "I mean, honestly, Simba!" she continued, "I can't believe you had no idea what I wanted when I came up behind you that night in the jungle and started messing with your-"

"It's Timon and Pumbaa's fault!" Her mate protested, his embarrassment impossible to ignore. He didn't know what was more humiliating, really; getting the talk from Timon and Pumbaa, or never getting it from anyone at all.

"Give me a break, Simba." said the queen, rolling her eyes. "Okay, fine, so your knowledge of breeding was as limited as that of a coconut at the time. But really, what kind of a lion are you? Have you no instincts? I was literally all over you!"

His face still completely red, Simba pouted and looked away. "I refuse to talk about this any further." he said. Oh, that's very mature of you, your majesty!

"Fine."

After a few seconds, he looked at her again. "But… It was good, right?"

Nala shrugged and sighed. "Eventually."

Her mate was then about to once again try to change her mind about this, but that was when both Sarafina and Mheetu made their way out of the den. The soon to be adolescent was staring at the ground with an unreadable expression, obviously still very troubled about what he had been told, while his mother had a smile on her face the suggested as if she was completely okay with her decision and fully unaware of the damage she had caused. Surely enough, when the young male noticed his sister and his brother in law, he tensed up and immediately stared back at the ground again. Oh, boy…

"Good morning, mom." said Nala with a smile, walking over to the older lioness and gently bumping her head against hers in a gesture of greeting.

"Good morning, Nala." replied Sarafina with a smile, looking at Simba as well. "Simba." Simba gave a slight nod in response.

He found it even more difficult to keep his composure as he saw how calm and collected his mate appeared to be. How come she was hiding her agitation at her mother's anything-but-perfect timing so well? Then, to his horror, Nala talked once more. "I've been thinking, mom." she said, looking at her mate in the corner of her eye. The king tensed up slightly. She wasn't going to… Was she? Please don't, Nala, whatever you do- "Simba and Mheetu need to spend some time together." Her little brother's head turned in her direction so quickly as she said this that, had a twig snapped nearby at the exact same time, Simba would have suspected that the younger lion had accidentally broken his own spine. "You know… Work on their bond and what not…"

Yup. She's done it. Seeing his mother in law look at him excitedly, the king realized that he couldn't back out from this now. He. Was. Doomed. "Why, that's a wonderful idea!" she exclaimed, the enthusiasm in her expression completely identical to that of her daughter's.

"It is?" asked Mheetu rather worriedly. No, mommy! Noooooooo!

"Absolutely!" Yeah. Totally doomed.

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Simba silently led his little brother in law away from Pride Rock, making sure not to walk too quickly so that the younger lion would have no trouble keeping up with him. A quick look over his shoulder to make sure that Mheetu was behind him also confirmed that Nala and Sarafina were still standing at the edge of Pride Rock and looking at them. Great. That was just fantastic. How was Simba supposed to get to his mate's brother and make him come around? It's not that he didn't want to make Mheetu feel more at ease, but seriously… It's like the world was trying to make his already seemingly impossible task even more difficult! Heck, he had a feeling that his father and the rest of his ancestors were probably watching and laughing their hearts out because of what was happening.

It didn't surprise the king to see that Mheetu was looking way more nervous than before. He seemed as if he'd rather be anywhere else doing anything but this – whatever it was they were doing. Well, they were just walking at the moment, and Simba was hoping he'd be able to think of something they could both do together soon. Okay, get a hold of yourself, Simba… She gave him the talk and this can't get any worse, but you're going to have to spend the day with him like you said you would.

Truly, he wanted to make things better between him and Sarafina's son. Just looking at the worried expression on his tiny little face, even if Mheetu was absolutely adorable when he was uncomfortable, made him feel bad about the younger lion's attitude towards him. Even if it wasn't his fault and his brother in law's worries were completely natural and justified, he really did want to make a change.

There had to be something they could do to distract themselves from the tension that was growing within every passing second. Timon and Pumbaa had played many games with him when he was younger. Surely he'd be able to come up with something and- Wait just a moment! That was it! Timon and Pumbaa! How could he have forgotten about his meerkat and warthog friends?! Not only would their very presence be able to distract both him and Mheetu from their reservations about this whole thing, but introducing Nala's brother to them might result in him making two new friends! Since he was the only non-adult lion in the pride, having him connect with the duo would be great!

Either way, the king was sure that they'd be able to help him out. Not only that, but it's been a while since he got to spend some Hakuna Matata time with his two 'dads'. Now that he had a day off, it would be a good opportunity to do some catching up. But, of course, this day was supposed to be Mheetu's as well, which meant that only part of it, it at all, could be spent with Timon and Pumbaa. Simba was hoping that being in their company for a while would make his brother in law less uncomfortable. With the tension at least partially gone, he was sure that he'd be able to carry on from there without their assistance. After all, he and the younger male were going to have to spend some time on their own eventually.

Not only that, but Simba knew just how much Pumbaa and Timon missed the time where he was little. They'd welcome Mheetu without a second thought! Now all he had to do was find the two of them. "Come on, Mheetu." he said with a smile, looking around at the tiny feline once more. The younger lion looked at him. "I know just where we can start." It was true that his brother in law was still hesitant about this, but he was curious as to just why his sister's mate was suddenly so enthusiastic. So, without saying anything, he slightly picked up the pace and followed. Best. Idea. Ever. Or perhaps the worst.

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Timon and Pumbaa were a little more difficult to find than Simba had expected them to be but, luckily enough, Mheetu's curiosity as to just what the king had in mind kept him occupied throughout the entirety of their search. The golden furred lion was not at all surprised to find the two of them taking a nap beneath the shade of a tree next to one of their favorite spots. Pumbaa, as usual, was lying on his back while Timon was sprawled across the warthog's stomach, looking more like he had been knocked unconscious rather than anything else. The reason this wasn't a surprise to the older lion was the very simple fact that the duo spent the entirety of their time doing one of the following; nothing, sleeping, eating bugs or arguing over whether the slimy ones were better than the crunchy ones or the other way around.

In a way, Simba was glad that he and Mheetu hadn't stumbled across the two of them while they were either in the middle of their pointless debates or in the middle of what they thought was a civilized meal. Chuckling at how ridiculous the meerkat and warthog looked, he turned around to face his brother in law. "Have you met Timon and Pumbaa?" he asked, smiling and lowering his head so that the younger lion wouldn't have to look up at him. The king figured that doing so might make the cute little male less nervous. He was pretty sure that Nala's brother has seen Timon and Pumbaa on several occasions but he knew well enough that the soon to be adolescent has never approached them because, whenever they were around Pride Rock, they were there to see their old friend, meaning that Simba was also there with them.

Somewhat cautiously, Mheetu looked past his brother in law's legs, which were concealing Timon and Pumbaa from his view. He has seen them a few times but, because Simba had always been around during said occasions, has never approached them despite his curiosity. "Um… Not really…" he said after a few seconds, still staring at the slumbering pair.

"Well then," said Simba with his trademark grin as he turned around, "now's your chance." Slowly walking closer to the meerkat and warthog, he looked over his shoulder after a short moment to make sure that the younger lion was following. After they'd minimized the remaining distance and were standing next to Pumbaa and Timon, the king once more looked around at his brother in law with a smile. "Don't worry, you'll love them." All of a sudden, without as much as a single warning, he brought his head closer to the duo and let out an almost earsplitting roar.

Instinctively, Mheetu was about to turn around and run like his life depended on it. But, by the time he recovered from how loud his brother in law's roar was, Timon and Pumbaa were running about while screaming incomprehensibly. Their rather amusing yelling, mixed with Simba's hearty laughter, convinced Nala's sibling that there was nothing to worry about and, after a few seconds, he found himself chuckling at what was happening in front of him. Despite having been startled to death by their lifelong friend, it didn't take the two of them too long to realize that they'd been played.

Timon glared daggers at Simba while Pumbaa simply did the best he could to catch his breath. "Very funny, Simba!" The fact that the lion continued to laugh only seemed to agitate him further but, back when they'd lived together in the jungle, they used to pull pranks on each other all the time. So, he eventually decided to leave it at that. For now. "Don't you have to be your royal highness at this time of day?" And, more importantly, shouldn't he and Pumbaa be sleeping? Undisturbed?!

"I took a day off, in a manner of speaking." replied the king. Mheetu, who was still standing behind his brother in law, was having a bit of a hard time comprehending the fact that the older lion had just done that. With how much Simba was always busy with his royal duties, the younger lion had developed the impression that the monarch's life was completely boring and void of any fun whatsoever. This little stunt of his was quite a surprise to say the least.

"Can kings even do that?" asked the meerkat with an annoyed look on his face as he took the liberty of stretching about.

"It's a long story."

'Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't think that I won't get back at you for this!" Mheetu had to resist the urge to laugh as the meerkat said this. What could a small creature such as Timon possibly do to a fully grown lion?

"Hey, you know that we're never going to get even. Ever." Bringing his head closer to Timon with a frown, Simba then whispered. "Not after that revelation of mine about the jungle."

"Oh, come on, Simba!" exclaimed Timon with a loud groan. "For the millionth time, we weren't there!" They were.

"Whatever." Looking around with a smile, Simba then stepped aside and revealed his little brother in law to his friends. "Timon, Pumbaa, you remember Mheetu, right?"

The two of them eyed him curiously. Timon looked as if the adolescent male wasn't ringing a bell or anything. Pumbaa eventually broke the silence. "You mean Nala's brother?"

Before Simba had a chance to respond, however, Timon suddenly blurted out, "Hey, I've got it! The kid's Nala's little brother!" Pumbaa frowned.

Simba, who was already used to Timon's antics when it came to Pumbaa's far more developed ability to think of things and / or remember them, paid the meerkat's statement no attention. "Yes, Pumbaa." Looking around at Mheetu, he smiled. "Go on, Mheetu."

"Ooooh, look at him Timon!" said Pumbaa as he walked closer, smiling. Timon hopped onto his back. The young lion didn't seem to be too bothered by the sudden closeness, seeing how he was just about as big as Pumbaa was. 'He's sooooo cute!" True, Mheetu wasn't as small as Simba had been back when he and Timon had found him, but he was still absolutely adorable!

"Nala wanted us to go out and have some fun." explained Simba as he grinned yet again. "So, here we are!"

"Wait," said Timon, hopping onto Pumbaa's snout, "you mean you really do have the day off?" he asked, looking at the king with disbelief.

"Sure do, pups."

"Oh, Pumbaa, do you know what this means?!" Before the warthog had a chance to answer, however, he carried on. "We're gonna spend a day just like old times!"

Simba hated to be the fun spoiler, but he didn't want to let Timon get too excited. "Not quite, Timon." he said. "I'm spending the day with Mheetu so we'll only be here for a while." The meerkat pouted at that, having obviously thought that Simba was going to spend the entirety of his day off with them. "But I knew I just had to introduce him to you. I think it would be wonderful if you three became friends because there aren't any other cubs in the pride."

Timon rubbed his chin for a few moments, as if thinking the matter over. "Well there aren't any _now_, Simba," he said cheekily, "but who kno-"

"Shut up." This was not the time for that kind of teasing. Not after his mother in law's brilliant timing. Briefly glancing at Nala's brother, he was relieved to see that the soon to be adolescent hasn't connected the dots. "Also…" Leaning closer to the meerkat, the king grinned. "You could teach him a little bit about Hakuna Matata."

That pretty much did the trick. Jumping off of Pumbaa's nose, the meerkat looked up at Mheetu with a smile. "Well, you've come to the right place, kid!" he said heartily, looking around at Pumbaa. "But before we get to the singing-"

"Singing?" asked Mheetu with a confused look on his face, looking up at his brother in law. Simba simply snickered and said nothing.

"-Pumbaa! Go and dig us some grubs!"

"Some what?" asked the younger lion, who obviously had no idea what he'd just gotten himself into.

What. The hell? They were expecting him to eat those?! "Grubs!" exclaimed Timon with a broad smile as he walked off to look for some more. Mheetu simply stared down at the bugs in front of him with what had to be pure terror, and what Pumbaa did next did not help him at all.

"You learn to love'em!" he exclaimed, his mouth filled with so many insects that they almost flowed out of his open jaws like a waterfall.

Mheetu had to resist the urge to vomit as the warthog then went ahead and joined his meerkat friend, most likely with the intention of getting more 'food'. How was _that_ food?! Looking back down at the 'meal' the duo had arranged for him and Simba, the young lion tensed up as his brother in law gave him a pat on the back and winked at him. "Eat it!" he said, as if they were actually looking down at some fresh, juicy carcass. "That's good for you, Mheetu!"

Good for him? Good for him?! How could something that made him feel sick to his stomach be good for him let alone edible?! Mheetu looked at Simba with a horrified expression on his face, causing the king to chuckle. "Hey," he said, once again ruffling the younger lion's nonexistent mane with his paw, "I grew up with Timon and Pumbaa eating just bugs! And look at me now!" When he'd told Nala that he thought bugs were healthy upon her discovering that that's what he'd eaten during his exile from the Pride Lands, she'd called him an idiot.

After what had to be a very long period of hesitation, Mheetu finally gathered up the courage and grabbed one of the grubs in front of him with his paw. Surely, since Simba was such a big and strong lion, these couldn't be _that_ bad… The young lion took in a deep breath, before opening his mouth and shoving the helpless insect inside. He almost spat it out right away. As a matter of fact, the only reason he didn't was the very simple fact that his brother in law decided to clench his muzzle shut with one of his paws. Looking at the older lion helplessly, the soon to be adolescent was met with a sly grin. "Chew and swallow." the king ordered.

No! Anything but that! Feeling the bug move about inside his mouth made him want to just throw up everything he has ever eaten in his entire life! The way it wiggled across his tongue and- good heavens, were those its legs?! Mheetu's expression conveyed one simple message; please let go, I'll do anything if you just let go! However, to his ever growing gagging reflex, the older male simply shook his head, grinning all the while. He did, however, release his grip a little bit so to provide the soon to be adolescent's jaws with enough freedom of movement in order for him to be able to chew.

Realizing that he had no other choice, the miserable looking young lion finally ended the helpless grub's life. As he reluctantly munched it, his disgusted expression softened slowly before fading out altogether when he finally swallowed. That wasn't bad at all! In fact, it was pretty good! Smiling triumphantly, Simba finally let go of Mheetu altogether. "Well?" he asked, once again patting his brother in law on the back.

Looking up at the older lion, Mheetu managed to smile a small smile. "That was… slimy."

"It sure was." said Simba with a chuckle as he ruffled the hair on his little brother in law's head yet again. "Slimy, yet satisfying."

**A/N: Man, I'm on fire! I finished the recent chapter of "Somewhere Out There" and wrote this chapter completely from scratch in one day! Please review and let me know what you thought of the various jokes & other comical scenarios in this chapter! Also, check out "Somewhere Out There" if you have the time!**

**ThatTexasKid****: You're right. There are definitely not enough stories about Mheetu here. I'm thrilled you like this so far!**

**Keep Calm and Join Team Loki****: I know! Mheetu is absolutely adorable, isn't he? :)**

**Nashoba Tohbi****: I'm happy you're enjoying this!**

**Incarnate Firefly****: You're the only one who commented about Sarafina's little stunt in your review! It's definitely a good thing you're amused so far; I hope your amusement lasts. You're right; Mheetu is rather young in this.**


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